McCallie coach Mike Wood had a plan for his runners going into the final Chattanooga Cross Country League race of the season at the Tennessee Riverpark.

His runners executed it to perfection.

The Blue Tornado ran as a group and for the most part finished that way, overcoming a downpour of rain to place six in the top 11 and easily win the event.

“I told the guys our plan was to run together as a pack,” he said. “I gave our top two permission to take off at the two-mile mark, but one (Riley Young) decided to stay back to help the pack, giving Will Raby a chance to take the lead and the win.”

McCallie finished with 25 points, well ahead of second-place Soddy-Daisy, which had 123. Raby finished the 5-kilometer event in 16 minutes, 28.23 seconds. Young was second in 16:48.44.

“I felt good; this was close to my best time,” Raby said. “I had never run this course, so I was happy with how I did.”

The senior liked the chance to run a pace with his teammates.

“It was a good chance to tempo-ru. It’s not often we can do that,” he said. “We were able to run a pace and push the third mile.”

Raby had competition from Soddy-Daisy’s Jake Fien early.

“I let him dictate the pace the first two miles; then I dropped the hammer in the third mile,” Raby said.

Red Bank’s Claire Turner became the third different runner to win a league meet with her first victory of the season in a CCCL race and second overall. The Chattanooga Patriots’ Johanna Gartman, a three-time winner, took second, while Chattanooga Christian’s Jessica Duble was third. Duble, a two-time Class A/AA state champion, won the Cross Country Festival race at Chickamauga Dam.

“I had a great race,” Turner said. “I’m thrilled. My legs felt great and, because of the rain, it was cool out and the dirt was flattened some, so I was happy with everything.”

Her other victory was in the Powerade Invitational.

“I knew it was a flat course, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so fast,” she said. “I had a 30-second personal record from Saturday’s race (in the Jesse Owens Classic).”

Red Bank coach Hugh Enicks was pleased with the overall effort of his girls, who won Tuesday’s race with 89 points, 13 better than Bradley Central.

“Claire’s run might have her in the top three in the state,” he said. “I was happy with how Anita McLure ran in her second race back from sickness, and Rose Morris continues to improve after an injury in the summer.”

McLure finished eighth in 20:23.72, while Morris was 24th in 22:15.63.

“Even our four to six runners had personal bests today,” Enicks continued. “I try to focus our runners on the later races and getting ready for the postseason, because that’s what matters the most.”

The next meet will be the Front Runner Invitational next Thursday at Baylor, but Turner won’t be there due to fall break. She is looking forward to the region meet.

“It’s been an amazing season,” she said. “I think I’ve done well . I had a rough start but was able to pick it up in the end.”

The level of competition has been solid on the girls’ side.

“Jackie (Pitcock of Bradley) has had some great races and is up there,” Turner said. “Also, with Jessica and Johanna, there has been a lot of competition this season.”

Regions taking shape

With the last league race over with, the regions are taking shape.

Chattanooga Christian reigns supreme on both the girls’ and boys’ side. The Lady Chargers are tops in 3-A/AA and currently sixth in the state, while the CCS boys are first in the region and eighth in the state.

In 3-AAA, Bradley’s girls are in first place, holding a five-point (41 to 46) lead over Red Bank, which won the 2007 championship. The two teams are 13th and 14th in the state.

Baylor’s boys are the top team in the state regardless of classification and remain one of the top teams in the Southeast. McCallie, with two of its top runners ineligible due to transfer rules, is in third.

Baylor’s girls are first and GPS third in Division II girls. Both Baylor squads are competing in the Great American Invitational Saturday in Hoover, Ala.

In Georgia, Heritage’s girls are having a solid first season, currently sixth in Class AAA and first in Region 6-AAA. Dalton’s girls are competing for a potential spot in the Georgia state meett. They sit fourth in 7-AAAA.

Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s boys are second in 6-AAA.